CECILIA AGBORELE ETCHIE

CECILIA AGBORELE ETCHIE

Struggle Against Death

Corona, beautiful name,

Laced in deadly vinegar,

Shrouded in social contacts;

Friendly hugs, kisses and handshakes.

Stinging deep like venomous scorpion

And seizing the very breath of Man,

In a vicious grip of its victim.

Corona Virus, COVID-19 or Death.

Synonyms connoting fear and panic,

Herald of destruction and poverty,

Pain and depression calling on suicide.

The dead have no more pain,

The living dead have no hope.

Life’s paradox of endless pain.

Corona, offspring of rattle snakes,

Agents of Satan, enemy of Man,

With devilish intent to test God’s plans.

In an unrelenting greed for power

And refusing to learn from history;

Tales of the builders of Babel Tower

Who stepped beyond Man’s limits.

Corona will be finally exterminated

At a cost far beyond Man’s expectation.

Humanity loss counted in millions,

World economy tumbled to a halt

While remnants are grabbed by Satan.

Lucky to be alive yet badly bruised,

We sing praises to God our Father.

Corona has taught many lessons:

Equality of Man in life and death,

Vanity of Man’s acquisitive instincts,

Family values assumes greater platform

And self-discipline a topmost gain.

Forever we shall recall with tepid fear

A virus which exposed our Nation’s ills.

Cecilia Etchie

The Longest Week

Seven days make a week,

But this week seems longer.

Twenty-four hours in a day,

But the days seem endless.

Sixty minutes in an hour,

But the hours have elongated

And yet the universe has not changed.

Smiles abound as we prepare

The first week of the lockdown.

In my parlor for Sunday service,

Big surprise to observe such talents:

Beautiful singers, adept with rattle gourds,

Preachers and prayer warriors,

All hidden and budding talents.

Monday, the bubbling first working day,

But now dulled by uncertainty and fear.

Household chores for the week

Completed in two quick hours.

The urge to eat and nibble snacks,

Anything to break the boredom

Yet far from expected cure.

Tuesday brings it own woes and fears.

More news of the dead and dying

Beshroud any sense of clear vision.

Tormenting questions severally asked

Without visible solutions for humanity.

Ask big brothers, beacons of hope,

But they sank and now below sea bed.

For Wednesday restlessness at dawn,

Greeting the troubled soul of Man.

Food store depleting without refill,

A call to rearrange priorities.

Eating brunch and a scanty dinner,

Survival instinct laced in wisdom;

Essential ingredients in hard times.

Thursday, the fifth day of isolation

Offers nothing less than fearful fears,

And hope like the receding evening sun

Fades away like the morning star.

Nations evacuating their beloved

With the speed of assembly of rats

Deserting a doomed and sinking ship.

Friday comes with unusual quietude;

A deviation from normal Jumat call.

Hungry souls, weakened by hunger,

Littering street corners in scores.

Deviant drivers and riders abound

To outsmart official security outfit

In a game of hide and seek.

Saturday completes the longest week.

No comparison with this week of agony,

Hunger and boredom locked in fear.

Our hope seems far away but sure;

Faintly visible at the end of a tunnel.

Then we shall sing again in freedom,

As we awake from the pains of ignorance.

                                                Cecilia Etchie

Salute To Our Heroes

Caught unawares in the viral raid,

The medics rose valiantly into action.

Mostly ill-equipped and scarcely garbed,

They plunged into a fight with Corona,

Where many brothers with sharper tools

Have failed and mourning their dead.

Faced with ignorant and fearful populace

Caregivers soon and too soon

Have caught the bug and now need care.

In the scramble for utmost survival

The question, is who gets what is available?

Many medicos gave their lives to save others.

Let us celebrate the World’s Medical family,

The gallant soldiers of medical profession.

Let them wear their garlands proudly,

Like conquering heroes after this war.

Let us mourn those who fell and drowned

In the flood waters of our careless world.

Cecilia Etchie  2020

CECILIA AGBORELE ETCHIE

CECILIA AGBORELE ETCHIE (NEE IZUAGIE): Born on February 13th, 1947, Cecilia Agborele was born into Izuagie royal family at Ayua in Edo State of Nigeria. She is a creative artist, a social worker, an educationist and an author. She has a B.A. Hons. (1972), M. Art Education (1976) and PhD (1985) all from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Having retired from active teaching at the College of Education and University, she is now more engaged in writing and social work. Among her publications are: Poems and short stories in Kwara ANA Anthologies. Symphony of Harmony (2009). Harmonious Chronicles (2019). Short stories for children.  Bride from the Cradle (fiction to address the challenges of the girl child). Anthology of poems (in print). Cecilia Etchie got married in 1978, to Mr. Folorunsho Etchie and they had three children who are all married with children. Cecilia is an active member of the Kwara State Branch of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). She is also a member of the Planning and Implementation Committee of the Moses Orimolade University (soon to start at Omu-Aran in Kwara State).